Chase foreign exchange rate

Rich Vietnamese people are the most interested in taking advantage of the E-B5 visa program, which allows foreigners to invest in job-creating business or real estate projects in the U.S. in return for obtaining a green card to become lawful permanent residents, the Wall Street Journal reported. Data from the U.S. Immigration Fund reveal that the number of Vietnamese nationals issued E-B5 visas climbed to 693 last year, a 47 percent increase from 2017, ranking the country the third fastest-growing market in the world for the U.S. immigrant investor visa program after China and India. Just four years ago, Vietnam made up only 1 percent of all EB-5 visas granted by the U.S. government. Currently, around 20 percent of EB-5 investment in American real estate comes from Vietnam, falling behind China (30 percent) and India (25 percent), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from the U.S. State Department. The EB-5 visa program has attracted growing interest from rich … [Read more...] about Vietnamese rich leading procurers of investment-based US green cards

Governments worldwide are concerned with the spread of so-called fake news online, Photo: freepik Last week, Google has been accused of manipulating users to track their activities in the Czech Republic, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, and Sweden. AFP reported that seven European consumer groups filed complaints against Google with national regulators, accusing it of covertly tracking users’ movements in violation of EU data protection regulations. The complaints stated that Google used “deceptive design and misleading information, which results in users accepting to be constantly tracked.” Council official Gro Mette Moen charged, “Google uses extremely detailed and comprehensive personal data without an appropriate judicial basis, and the data is acquired by means of manipulative techniques.” Social media contains risks Over the last years, the emergence of the Internet and social media has brought about quite the information … [Read more...] about Taxing times for the internet icons

Trinh Thanh Thuy, Editor in Chief of Viet Nam News Viet Nam News While talks about The Fourth Industrial Revolution, smart cities and digital connection become trendy, Trinh Thanh Thuy suggests that we should make our existing communities smart first to ensure no one is left behind. People are talking industry 4.0 and 5.0, and of high flying, but in these efforts to build a smart digital environment a serious lack of attention is being paid to those on the ground, or more accurately, lack of orientation and measures for improving the life of those classified as poor and destitute. Even last week with the adoption of the ASEAN Smart Cities Framework by ASEAN leaders in Singapore, although it is quite comprehensive with beautiful concepts and promised “that no one is left behind”, the focus is mainly on the “urban centres”. Meanwhile at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Papua New Guinea with the theme … [Read more...] about Smart communities could be the smartest way forward

Struggling to attract domestic funds, banks are rushing to seek foreign capital ahead of the central bank’s tightened policy on medium- and long-term lending early next year According to the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) regulations, short-term funds for medium- and long-term loans at banks will be reduced from the current 45 per cent to 40 per cent from January 1, 2019. Banks will also need more capital to meet a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 8 per cent in 2020 as per the SBV’s Basel II norms. To prepare for the regulations, besides increasing interest rates for long-term deposits to attract depositors, banks also have to find capital from foreign partners. Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) recently took a US$20 million loan for a term of five years from Russia’s International Investment Bank and a 20 million euro loan under a credit agreement framework with Russian International Bank for Economic Cooperation. According to SHB, the loans will help the … [Read more...] about Banks look abroad in rush for long-term capital

Young Vietnamese leaders set sail As many as 28 Vietnamese young leaders will embark on a 52-day voyage with their regional peers with the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme (SSEAYP) from October 23 to December 13. young vietnamese leaders set sail hinh 0 They are among more than 300 youths from the 10 ASEAN countries and Japan who will visit Japan, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam during the 45th voyage aboard the vessel Nippon Maru. First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee Le Quoc Quan held a meeting with the Vietnamese young delegates in Hanoi on October 18. Quan, also Chairman of the Vietnam Youth Federation’s Central Committee, said he expects the 28 young leaders will show confidence and amplify their strengths in communication and foreign language skills as well as social knowledge to leave their mark on the journey. As ambassadors of more than 25 million youths across Vietnam, they need to be … [Read more...] about Social News 25/10

New enterprises up 5.3% in H1 More than 64,350 new enterprises were formed in the first half of this year with a total registered capital of VND648.9 trillion (US$22.95 billion). These figures, marked year-on-year increases of 5.3 per cent in the number of businesses and 9 per cent at the level of capital, the Business Registration Management Agency, operating under the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported. Experts at the agency attributed the period’s positive performance to the improving business conditions and registration procedure. According to experts, the newly-established firms have a tendency to rise since the beginning of this year. Notably, the second quarter of this year saw the highest number of new firms and level of registered capital over the past five years with 37,750 units, registering $11.8 billion in capital, up 41 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively. In the first six months, the average capital for an enterprise reached VND10.1 billion, surging … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/7

Second thought needed for price hikesThe Saigon Times Daily There are good reasons for concern, when the average price consumer index (CPI) in the first half of this year reached 3.29%, compared to the annual target of below 4% pledged by the Government and endorsed by the National Assembly. Such a point was highlighted by the General Statistics Office (GSO) at a press briefing last week. Head of the GSO Nguyen Bich Lam while stressing a robust economic growth rate at 7.08% in the first half, called attention to the increasing inflation pressure. Lam said June’s CPI of 0.61% was the highest in seven years. Since early this year, the Government has reiterated the top-priority goal of macro-economic stability, highlighting the target to keep inflation below 4%. Such a commitment, however, is facing challenges, and serious ones at that. High inflation, as agreed by economists, is driven by five primary causes, namely increasing money supply, big national debt, demand-pull effect, … [Read more...] about Second thought needed for price hikes

Strong fluctuations expected this weekPhuong Thao By Phuong Thao - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Securities firms predicted that both markets would see strong movements again as global economic changes and foreign activities will continue to cause impacts on indices and liquidity this week. The VN-Index fluctuated strongly last week, undergoing sharp correction in the first two days before bouncing back in the next two sessions and then closing the week with a mild decline. Investors worldwide became cautious at economic changes in the U.S., China and Japan, prompting them to withdraw capital out of emerging markets, including Vietnam. According to Viet Dragon Securities Company, foreigners net withdrew over VND2.1 trillion out of the market in June, with transactions of two exchange-traded funds Vietnam Market Vectors (VNM) and Vietnam FTSE (FTSE) causing most negative impacts on local stock indices. Closing the week, the VN-Index lost 3.6% to 481.13 while the HNX-Index declined … [Read more...] about Strong fluctuations expected this week